Breaking the yard / a film by Richard Werbner.

Format:

Video

Contributor:

Werbner, Richard P., director, producer.

International Centre for Contemporary Cultural Research, production company.

Series:

Academic Video Online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Tswana (African people)--Botswana.

Tswana (African people).

Adultery--Botswana.

Adultery.

Trials--Botswana.

Trials.

Families--Botswana.

Families.

Law, Tswana.

Botswana--Social life and customs.

Botswana.

Genre:

Documentary films.

Ethnographic films.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (23 minutes)

Place of Publication:

[Place of publication not identified] : Privately Published, 2018.

Language Note:

In English.

System Details:

video file

Summary:

The film tells an intimate story of change from generation to generation in family life. It illuminates a murky impasse between families, when villagers, taking sides, tell the truth as many different truths or whisper with threats of scandal. It was shot in Botswana's Moremi village with its awesome landscapes during the dramatic national patriotic celebration for Botswana's 50th anniversary in 2016. The focus is on John, a church minister and a leading village elder, trained in settling disputes in the South African mines. John gets entangled in the troubled affairs of a quarrelsome young couple, a stay-at-home farmer and his police constable, town-savvy wife. They claim to be still in love. But when the husband confesses to adultery - 'breaking the yard' in Tswana terms - and the wife decides to fight for her rights in court, John finds himself in an awkward position. Even with his own bishop, he struggles to reach a good resolution. This remains uncertain, as arguments in the village's customary court turn from adultery issues to putting his and other elders' care for the couple into question.

Notes:

Title from resource description page (viewed May 18, 2018).

OCLC:

1039699941